Firelight
by xxBurningxx
Summary: Moral of the story: never trust your weapon-partner to lead the way with directions. In which Soul and Maka are lost in a forest with no one to rely on other than themselves.


**Story Note: No particular place on the timeline. K+ for light swearing. Short warm-up fic; I'm a bit rusty in writing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater and make no profit from this story.  
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_Firelight_

_by. _**xxBurningxx**

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"Damn it, Soul!"

Considering that his meister usually doesn't swear, she must have been pretty pissed off at him. In most cases he would have yelled back, because that's usually how their arguments go, but since he's aware that this is actually mostly his fault, he only gives a sheepish shrug. What can he say? Shouldn't all women in general know by now that trusting men with directions is asking for disaster? Apparently his meister didn't. Either that or she just had a lot of faith in him.

Maka looks around in hope of finding any familiar landscape, but she can't seem to find any. Every few moments, she makes sure to send her partner a death-glare that says, "I'm going to kill you when we get out of this mess." Staring at the map that she had violently ripped away from Soul not too long ago, she attempts to guesstimate where they were. It would help if the map weren't muddy and practically torn in half.

"Well, Maka, maybe we ca-"

"Shut up and let me think."

So, she has a reason to be mad, but that doesn't mean she should ill-treat the weapon, does it? Soul huffs in annoyance and leans against a tree.

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The sun is near setting, and they still haven't found their way out of the seemingly never-ending forest. After hours of stumbling through vines and tripping over rocks, the two of them are exhausted, and Maka seems to have given up on being mad at Soul. With no way to contact the DWMA (the one time she forgets to bring that spare mirror), they're on their own to survive for the soon approaching night. To top it off, Maka's also succeeded in spraining her ankle by falling over an overlarge root jutting out of the earth. It causes her to limp, and she can't walk without causing excruciating pain.

That was about an hour ago, and so now she's resorted to leaning on Soul for support. He prefers that a great deal more than being used as a machete to chop down tangled clusters of plants and vegetation.

"Soul, stop, we need to stop try to set up a camp. We'll need fire wood or something," she tells him, gesturing to the setting sun. At most, they have only about forty minutes of light left.

They've stopped in a small clearing, not too large, but enough that there's decent flat space for the two of them right next to a very large oak tree. Soul looks up at the massive tree, guessing it must be at least a hundred feet tall and three arm-lengths wide. Soul gently helps Maka sit down in a crook of one of its large roots, trying best to avoid hitting her injured ankle. Once he's made sure she's settled and safe, he tells her he's going to go get something to start a fire with.

"Don't go too far; I don't want you getting lost also."

He nods. That's the last thing he needs; to be separated from his meister.

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Being a metallic weapon has it's ups and downs. Apparently starting fires is one of those ups. The sun is hardly up by the time Soul comes back, barely casting a glow around them. He can see Maka visibly sigh in relief upon his arrival. Turning his hand into a scythe, he uses it to create sparks by striking it against a rock; as soon as one catches the wood, he starts kindling it until it's a steady flame, flickering and providing light now that the sun has settled below the horizon.

Soul takes a seat next to Maka against the oak. Despite the flame, the temperature seems to be dropping rapidly with each passing set of minutes, and soon, Soul finds himself shivering despite the jacket he's wearing. Maka is in no position to say she isn't cold either; he swears he can hear the chattering of her teeth. Instinctively, he scoots closer so that their shoulders are touching, and immediately she leans into him.

"I blame this on you Soul. Why is it that we have no trouble completing the mission, but we screw up on simple things like, _getting out of a forest?_"

"Actually, I think it's your fault. You should have never trusted me with the map in the first place." He says it in a joking tone, and he can't help but let a faint smirk form. She doesn't reply, but he has a feeling that she rolled her eyes at him.

At best, the crackling of the fire and chirping of bugs in the distance can be considered soothing, but it still does nothing to erase the chilliness in the air. Soul can also feel a sharp pang of hunger settle in his stomach. When was the last time he ate? Breakfast? Something like that.

After a while, even though it goes against her pride, Maka can't keep herself from full out snuggling into Soul's side, striving for the body warmth. Her long sleeves do nothing to batter off the cold.

He says nothing, but rather puts his arm around her, pulling her closer to him in an attempt to shield her from the temperature.

After a while, Maka falls asleep with her head resting on his shoulder, and Soul finds himself lost in the smell of her hair, unable to refuse his bottled up emotions he's been keeping locked away for the past forever. He finally falls asleep, staring into the lingering flames, and despite the fact that he should be worrying about getting out of this forest, he can't help but wonder...

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**A/N: *Yawns and massages hands***

**Ah, hello guys! I haven't been around in a while! Apologies for that. Disregarding my last depressing/weird/awkward story, I haven't written anything in forever! So, this story in itself is just a warm-up. I know, I know, my writing skills are rusty! I doubt this will get a second chapter just for that reason; it's a warm-up. So unless you guys really want me to, don't expect a sequel. Just assume whatever you want: they get out of the forest, yay; they die; they turn into unicorns, whatever you like.**

**On a brighter note, you know what warm-ups mean: more actual stories soon! Yay! Also, you guys can thank insomnia for this story. I have to get up in 5 hours, and I'm writing. *sighs* Yes, so I'm sort of half asleep; I know, great time for writing. Whatever. :|**

**Anyhooo, thank you for reading. Check out my other stories if you'd like. Reviews = inspiration! :)**


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